


Intolerant

by DiamondWings



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: (kinda), Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Healthy relationships with lots of communication, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Roommates Changbin and Seungmin, Seungbin are terrible roommates, Seungbin's friends invented call-out culture, Side ship Hyunsung, and they were ROOMMATES, but they're getting there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:08:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23177476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiamondWings/pseuds/DiamondWings
Summary: Changbin was far from the ideal roommate: hogs the common living spaces, leaves messes everywhere, blasts loud music at all times of the day, always has his noisy friends over, comes home late at night (loudly), doesn't do his chores on time.Seungmin was another nightmare to live with: antisocial, naggy, always complaining about everything and nothing.And yet, they were roommates. What could possibly go wrong?
Relationships: Kim Seungmin/Seo Changbin
Comments: 17
Kudos: 256





	Intolerant

**Author's Note:**

> This story is for the lovely [@Cin](https://twitter.com/lovelyzimt) on twitter. Go check out her art, it's to die for!

“No, no, let’s take out that percussion, it’s too… too heavy. Let’s try something lighter, something airier. How about… Hmm… This?” Chan suggested, making the adjustments on screen, and Changbin’s brows furrowed in concentration as he listened to the modified track attentively. His concentration was soon broken by a figure appearing in the doorway connecting the kitchen and living room, though. Looking up, he found his roommate giving him an icy glare, which had him shrink in on himself on instinct.

“If you absolutely have to leave your dirty dishes in the sink, can you at least soak them?!” His roommate’s voice, although not raised in the slightest, cut through the room like the crack of a whip. It had about the same effect as one on Changbin, too, prompting him to get up hastily to go do just that, but Seungmin’s next words stopped him again.

“No need; I already cleaned them. See that you keep in mind for next time.” With that, the boy disappeared down the hallway.

Changbin looked after him with a look that resembled that of a sad puppy.

“Wow…” Chan murmured, staring at where Changbin’s roommate had disappeared with a frown. “Who spit in _his_ soup?”

Changbin answered him with a sigh. “No, he’s right; I need to stop doing that. It’s annoying as shit, when you need to use the sink but have to wash a ton of dishes first. Very bad habit. I’ll work on it!” He shook his head, sitting down again. “Ok, let me listen to this again!”

Chan gave Changbin a curious look as the latter just threw himself back into his work, but didn’t say anything, instead rewinding the track for Changbin to listen to again without distractions.

***

“Hey, isn’t that your roommate?”

Jisung’s remark had Changbin’s head snap up, searching in the direction Jisung was pointing. Through the large glass front of the restaurant he and Chan had met up in with the younger for dinner, he could indeed see Seungmin on the other side of the road, about to enter a restaurant with a group of other college boys Changbin had seen once or twice before when Seungmin had had them over to do assignments together.

“They’re eating at that specialties restaurant…? That’s the one, isn’t it? The one where they specialise in making meals for people with all kinds of intolerances?” Jisung inquired further, and Chan answered him with a hum.

“Yeah. Woojin says it’s the only place you can get gluten and sugar free vegan cakes that don’t taste like cardboard in this city.”

“Why would anyone want a cake like that?!” Jisung sounded and looked absolutely grossed out, until Chan gave him a judgemental look.

“Intolerances, Sung.”

Hitting his forehead for his own stupidity, Jisung groaned. “Right. Poor Woojinnie-hyung. I’m sure Binnie-hyung could bake him some tasty and edible cakes that he can actually eat, too, though. Right, hyung? Binnie-hyung? Seo Changbin!”

Changbin’s head whipped around to give Jisung a questioning look after the third call of his name, and with a roll of his eyes, Jisung repeated his question.

“Yeah, I guess.” Changbin shrugged. “It’s all a matter of knowing how ingredients work together to work around those you have to leave out. I can experiment around a bit to make some cakes for Woojin-hyung, if he’d like that.”

“I’m sure he would appreciate it a lot.” Chan confirmed, before a teasing glint stole itself into his eyes. “Just make sure to rinse and soak the dishes you use and don’t leave anything in the sink; wouldn’t want you to show up decapitated.”

Changbin could only groan, rolling his eyes. “He’s really not that bad, and he was right to call me out today.”

“What are you talking about?” A confused Jisung butted in then, and Chan took it upon himself to fill him in.

“Binnie’s newish roommate.”

That peaked the youngest’s interest. “Oh! You’ve barely told us about him! What’s he like?”

Jisung’s wagging eyebrows elicited an eyeroll from Changbin, but he answered anyway.

“He’s ok. He mostly keeps to himself, doesn’t touch my stuff, picks up after himself and does the chores assigned to him, doesn’t make much noise, doesn’t stay out late, doesn’t throw loud parties or has lots of people over… He’s pretty much the perfect roommate, actually.”

Chan snorted softly, and Jisung agreed with him with a look.

“So he’s basically everything you are _not_. How long has he been living with you? Two months, going on three? How hasn’t he moved out yet?!”

“Hey! I’m not that bad!” Changbin protested, but Chan immediately took to listing Changbin’s defects.

“You are messy, forgetful, you listen to loud music all the time, you come home at the oddest hours in the morning – and we all know you’re incapable of moving quietly when you’re tired - you have us over more often than not, and we _always_ occupy the whole living room. How does he _stand_ you?!”

“I suppose I’m just _that_ charming? I don’t know, but as you saw today, he has no problem calling me out for my shortcomings, so if he hasn’t complained more by now, I guess he’s not that bothered. Sung, move, food’s coming!”

The conversation was left at that in that moment, but that didn’t mean it was over in Changbin’s head.

It came back to him on his way home, much later that night. Was he actually such an awful roommate? If he was, the question why Seungmin hadn’t left yet was a valid one. And that… That stung. Changbin didn’t want Seungmin to leave. Not just because him sharing the apartment and thus rent made his life a lot easier, financially (life as a freshly graduated freelance musician wasn’t easy, ok), but also… He supposed he kind of liked Seungmin, and he didn’t want to aggravate him to the point he felt the need to flee Changbin’s presence. He didn’t want to aggravate him at all, actually. So, yeah, he really needed to make an effort if he wanted to keep Seungmin from looking for a new place to live.

***

Changbin really did the best he could to become a better roommate. He made an effort to make as little noise as possible when coming home late and took care not to blast his music too loud, and not at all after 11pm, resorting to headphones at night. When Jisung and Chan came over to work on some tracks with him, they stopped occupying the whole living room and went to Changbin’s bedroom instead. He did all of his share of chores on time and well, sometimes even taking over some of Seungmin’s when he had spare time and saw something still in need of being done. Dirty dishes didn’t pile in the sink anymore, not just being rinsed but also washed, dried and put away immediately, and Changbin was sure he had never before in his life spent so much time with a vacuum cleaner.

Aside from his chores, Changbin decided to start improving their living space in general, too. He bought scented candles (the ones with gentle, non-intrusive scents, since he didn’t know how tolerant Seungmin would be to them), replaced the linings of the kitchen cabinets, installed a dirt-tray under the shoe rack in the hallway, decalcified the shower-head and taps in both the bathroom and kitchen, and even bought a set of new bathroom rugs.

In his own opinion, Changbin would say he had redeemed himself as a roommate. In Seungmin’s… Well. He couldn’t be sure. He didn’t talk with him often and long enough for him to mention anything. But at least, he didn’t get scolded again.

All went well, until, of course, one day it had to go wrong. Changbin had been experimenting with a new cake recipe (one for a special cake for Woojin. Chan let them know that Woojin was _this_ close to get a contract with a pretty promising company, and if it went well, they were to throw him a congratulatory party; and what would a party without a cake be? One not worthy of the title, if you asked Changbin), and as luck would have it, he took longer than planned and had to rush out to an appointment without having the time to clean up the kitchen afterwards.

He felt terrible all day, but there was nothing he could do about it as appointments were followed by meetings, which were followed by commitments and more appointments. It was evening by the time he was free, and he decided to try and make up for the mess he’d left behind by bringing Seungmin dinner. Surely a college student like him wouldn’t be against free food, right? And who could truly say no to fried chicken? He knew Seungmin ate chicken, he’d seen the takeout boxes in the trash before.

Luck was not on his side, however. When he arrived at home, he met Seungmin in the hallway.

“Oh…! Hi! Are you… Going out?” He greeted, awkwardness bleeding painfully into his voice as he stood rooted in the door.

“Uhm, why?” Seungmin’s tone bordered suspicious.

“Oh, it’s just- I, I’m sorry for leaving the kitchen in a mess this morning, I didn’t mean to, but I got the time wrong and had to rush and- Anyway, to make it up to you, I brought dinner to apologize!” He held the bag with the takeout boxes out to Seungmin, but the other didn’t take it.

“Chicken?” He asked instead, and Changbin nodded.

“Fried?” Again Changbin nodded, this time accompanied with a “Yes!”

Seungmin only sighed, though, moving to pull a pair of his shoes off the rack.

“I can’t have that; can’t eat eggs. Besides, to answer your earlier question, yes, I’m going out.”

Changbin was so surprised, he didn’t even deflate until after the door closed behind Seungmin. Of course, he was disappointed that he’d chosen a food Seungmin couldn’t even eat, so his apology was worth nothing, but more than that… He found himself sad that he didn’t know in the first place which foods his roommate of almost four months now liked and didn’t, and could and couldn’t eat.

Dejected, he called Jisung over; it wasn’t the chicken’s fault, and they couldn’t let it go to waste, after all.

***

Seungmin never mentioned the messy kitchen Changbin had left behind that day, nor the chicken-incident, as Changbin dubbed it, and Changbin was glad for it. Still, he felt as if he was lacking when it came to being a good roommate, still, and he did his best to make up for it; mostly by making sure the apartment was practically spotless at any and all times. And so, it didn’t come as a surprise that he was in the middle of vacuuming the living room once again when Jisung happened to come over one day.

He had his own key and came in whenever he pleased, so he didn’t need Changbin to open the door for him. In fact, Changbin only realized he was there when he felt a tap on his shoulder. With a startled jump, Changbin turned around to see his friend and turned off the vacuum.

“What are you doing here already? I thought you were coming at five!”

Jisung gave him a deadpan look.

“It’s five-thirty. I sent you at least six messages. You would know that, if you weren’t so in love with this thing…” He kicked lightly at the vacuum cleaner. “Since when do you clean, anyway?”

Changbin’s mouth dropped open in indignation, ready to hurl some sort of insult at the annoying younger, when he noticed Seungmin standing in the door. Immediately, the insult died on his tongue, replaced by an incoherent stutter.

“Shut up, I- I do clean!”

“Obviously.” Jisung scoffed. “But since when? And- are those curtains new?”

Changbin whipped around, looking at where Jisung was pointing.

“No. But I washed them. _Those-”_ He pointed at a different set “-are new, though. The old ones had really frayed edges, I think a cat must have gotten into them at some point.”

Jisung nodded slowly.

“O…kay. How come that bothered you now? They were already frayed when you moved in three years ago!”

“I might not have noticed their state as much, but now I did, and it bothered me! They didn’t fit the ambience anymore.” Changbin tried to explain, always acutely aware of Seungmin still standing in the door and highly bothered by him witnessing Jisung call him out like that, but Jisung remained either ignorant or indifferent to his dilemma.

“You mean the ambience with the candles, the new couch-cover and- wait, did you really get those wicker-balls that all the wannabe-interior-designer aunties always get? Oh god, hyung-”

“That is exactly the ambience I’m talking about!” Changbin had to interrupt him, unable to stand the humiliation in front of his roommate any longer. “Now listen, did you come over to work or just to criticize how I decorate my living room? Because I doubt the latter is going to pay your rent next week!”

Jisung’s eyes widened, taking in the mix of emotions on Changbin’s face -annoyance, desperation, something that looked like panic, and even a trace of hurt- and he dropped the subject. “Ok, I’m sorry. I’m going ahead to your room. File name?”

Changbin exhaled a tiny sigh of relief.

“’Pace version three point two - needs Sung’s vocals.’”

“Great song title! We should leave it like that!” Jisung laughed, but eventually, finally, moved to go ahead to Changbin’s room.

Only when the door closed behind him did Changbin exhale in relief, just to straighten up yet again when he remembered Seungmin; upon turning around to where his roommate had been standing, he found him already gone, though. Changbin’s shoulders slumped as he let out a weary sigh; why, just why did Seungmin have to witness Jisung poking fun at him for the things he had put a genuine effort in; not exclusively, but also for Seungmin’s sake? And why, just why, did Changbin have to feel so bothered by the prospect of seeming like a try-hard, when that was exactly what he was doing, on purpose?

*** *** ***

“Minnie is pensive today… Hey, what’s going on in that head of yours?” Hyunjin poked Seungmin’s side lightly, knowing that the question alone most likely wouldn’t be enough to get the other’s attention.

Seungmin squirmed away from Hyunjin’s prodding finger, giving him an annoyed look without answering his question.

“Bet he’s still thinking about his roommate and his strange behaviour.” When Seungmin failed to answer Hyunjin’s question, Felix did for him. Of course, his non-explanation immediately sparked Hyunjin’s curiosity even further.

“What? Why? What did his roommate do?”

“Household chores and redecorating.”

Hyunjin frowned, confused. “And that’s bad…?”

Felix shook his head, but this time it was actually Seungmin who answered, tired of having his friends talk about _his_ roommate when he was right there.

“Of course that’s not bad! I just don’t get why he’s suddenly putting so much effort into cleaning and decorating the whole place when up until recently he couldn’t even rinse a damned coffee mug.” Seungmin all but exploded, frustration bleeding into his voice. Hyunjin was stunned silent, but Felix remained unimpressed.

“Maybe he’s trying to impress a potential love interest… Or at least attempting to not come of as the lazy-ass bachelor that you described him as before.”

Seungmin shook his head, maybe a bit too quickly. “No. I’d know if he’d brought someone new home, and he didn’t. He just has the same two friends come over all the time, and they are surprised by his behaviour, too.”

“Maybe he’s just wants some peace and quiet for once and is trying to get to shit before you explode on him for it eventually.” Hyunjin suggested next, and while his voice was joking, teasing, there was a hint of seriousness in it. That hint didn’t go unnoticed by Seungmin.

“What?”

Seeing Seungmin’s genuinely shocked expression, Hyunjin sighed. “I mean… I love you, Minnie, but… We all know you’d be a nightmare to live with. You’re always nagging about this chore or that chore, this speck of dust and that shoe out of place, even when you’re not in your own house. I can’t imagine what you put your roommate through with your bordering obsessive need for clean-and-tidiness! Honestly, we’re all surprised he’s put up with it this long.”

Seungmin gaped at Hyunjin, then let his gaze wander over to Felix, who shrugged apologetically but didn’t deny their friend’s words.

“He’s right, you know, hyung? We’ve really discussed this before.” A new voice chimed in the silence of the wake of Hyunjin’s words, and Jeongin joined them at the table. “And we’ve come to the conclusion you must have found a saint to live with, because he’d need the patience of one to endure your nagging on the daily. And from what you’ve told Felix about all the other things he’s been doing around the house, we’re actually sure he is an angel of some kind. Not that you don’t deserve an angel in your life, but does he deserve what you make him go through?”

Seungmin’s expression darkened. “What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“What Innie means, is: Have you ever shown your roommate that you appreciate his efforts? Or do you just point out when he messes up?” Felix explained calmly, tone soothing in an attempt to calm Seungmin’s rising temper.

Seungmin took a deep breath, noticing himself that he was one step away from snapping at his friends, who seemed to have ganged up on him, but maybe, possibly, not unjustified.

“No… I didn’t ask him to remodel the entire house and become a cleaning devil, though!”

“Maybe not with those words…” Hyunjin remarked, but broke off upon seeing Felix shake his head at him.

“That’s completely beside the point and totally irrelevant.” Felix waved both Seungmin’s and Hyunjin’s words away. “You do appreciate his efforts, don’t you? If you do, you should let him know, regardless if he’s doing it for you or for someone else, or out of boredom, procrastination, or an early midlife crisis. Just tell him you noticed and appreciate it. It won’t hurt either of you.”

“And maybe just let it go when he does leave a mess behind every once in a while. Time gets away from everyone sometimes, and as long as he picks up his mess later, it should be ok, right?” Jeongin added, directing a winning smile at Seungmin.

Seungmin frowned, but he couldn’t rightfully argue back without looking like an asshole, so he didn’t. He did, however, excuse himself from their gathering early, claiming he wanted to get a headstart on an assignment, and headed home.

In reality, what he needed was some time to think. He was aware that he got caught up with himself too often and failed to see the struggles of those around him. He had some introspection to do, as well as some observation when it came to his roommate.

***

Maybe it shouldn’t have taken as long - definitely not a whole month! - but introspection and observing Changbin took some time, accepting what he found took a while, too, acknowledging it and discussing it with his friends dragged it out for another bit, and then thesis deadlines had rolled around and Seungmin’s worries were needed elsewhere, and before he knew it, four whole weeks had passed. Seungmin was honestly embarrassed for himself and his own cowardice, and decided to put an end to it once and for all.

Of course, once he’d made the decision to finally go and talk to Changbin, acknowledge the efforts the older had made and express his appreciation, as well as apologize for being a crappy roommate so far, it turned out Changbin wasn’t even home. He waited almost anxiously for him to come home, hoping with his entire being that today wouldn’t be one of those days Changbin stayed out incredibly late.

After pacing in his room for way too long, he decided to give his carpet a break and find something else to do around the house to waste away the time. All he found were minor things that were done in no time at all, though, and he was back to square one.

Thankfully, Changbin didn’t come home too late, the sound of the lock clicking echoing through the otherwise quiet apartment half-way through the afternoon.

Seungmin willed his steps to stay short and unhurried as he made his way to the living room, through which Changbin would have to pass if he wanted to get to his room or the kitchen.

“Hey!” He greeted as soon as Changbin stepped into the room, startling the older. His brows creased in worry as soon as he saw Seungmin, too.

“H-hi?” Changbin’s greeting sounded more like a question than anything else, and Seungmin was not one to let people wait and waste much breath with meaningless chit-chat when he had something important to say.

“I need to talk to you.” He made sure to let Changbin know, just so the older didn’t beat a hasty retreat somewhere first.

While his announcement was successful in rooting Changbin to his spot, it clearly also sparked anxiety in the other.

“I was going to wash the cake-tin as soon as I came home! Promise!” Changbin defended himself on the spot.

Seungmin frowned; if this was Changbin’s immediate response to him asking to talk to him, what exactly did that say about him? He must really have nagged Changbin more than he had thought, to immediately cause such distress. That was not at all his intention right now, though!

“Yeah, about that, actually-”

“And I know I’m behind on vacuuming, too!” Changbin interrupted him before he could even finish. “I’m so sorry, I had a deadline at 6am and needed to get the cake done by lunch. I’ll get right to it, as soon as I’m done with the dishes!” He made to push past Seungmin and to the kitchen, but Seungmin blocked his way.

“That’s not what I wanted to talk to you ab-”

“I’m really sorry, I’m going to make it up to you! Just- let me know how, and I’ll do it, ok?”

“You don’t need to-”

“Name anything, I’ll do it! I can wash your dishes for the rest of the week, too, or-”

“Please just let me talk!” After being interrupted again and again, Seungmin had enough and decided to interrupt Changbin himself. Changbin immediately clamped his mouth shut, staring anxiously at Seungmin. “I’m not about to nag you about any household chores or anything. On the contrary.” He tried to reassure, but his words once again had the opposite effect on Changbin.

“Oh no, you’re going to move out, aren’t you?” Changbin’s voice sounded so dejected, so _sad_ , it was almost painful. “I am so sorry, I really tried-”

“I know you did! And that is not at all what I wanted to talk to you about, either. I’m not moving out. Would you please just listen?” Seungmin interrupted him again, starting to lose his patience.

Changbin shut up again, standing up straighter.

“First and foremost, I wanted to apologize to you for being an insufferable, pedantic dick all the time, nagging you endlessly about every little thing and showing zero understanding for your struggles when going on about inconsequential chores being left unfinished.” By the time Seungmin stopped to take a breath, Changbin’s eyes had widened to the size of saucers. “And, I’d like you to know that more recently, since I got a kind of rude but definitely necessary wake-up call, I did notice everything you’ve done to make the whole apartment nicer, how you’ve even taken over some of my chores when doing your own, and even how you’ve changed some of your habits to more considerate ones. And I want to thank you for that; I really appreciate it.”

“I-I, that’s-”

“I know you didn’t do it for me, but I still appreciate it, and still want to thank you.”

Changbin’s rigid stance slowly relaxed as Seungmin’s words sank in.

“I… Oh. I, uhm, you’re welcome. I- I did do it for you, though.” He stuttered, a light blush creeping onto his cheeks. “I mean, not only for you, but- but for us. So we’d both have a more comfortable living space, and could get along better- I mean, not that we didn’t- well, we actually, we never really- but you were always considerate to me, while I-” Changbin broke off as Seungmin let out an incredulous laugh.

“Me, considerate? What about me yelling at you almost daily was considerate?!”

Changbin grimaced, lifting his hands as if in defence.

“No, not that. I mean- Well, you were justified, and I- I mean, you didn’t leave messes, didn’t make noise, didn’t hog the common spaces, while I, I did all that, so-”

“That’s not me being considerate, that’s me being an antisocial recluse. Which I’m also sorry for. As well as for basically not letting you get to know me at all and then making you feel bad for not knowing me.”

“What?!” Seungmin had lost him, Changbin didn’t know what he was talking about anymore.

“When you brought me chicken to apologize for the dirty kitchen that one time? You had no way of knowing I can’t eat eggs, but the way I said it… The way that whole episode went down, I’m sorry about that. I should have just accepted your apology and explained, instead of leaving without a further word and never addressing it again. Not that you should have had to apologize in the first place!”

Changbin’s jaw dropped and he could only stare at Seungmin in open-mouthed bewilderment.

“You-…”

“I’m sorry, and I would like to make it up to you.” Seungmin concluded once it seemed as if Changbin wasn’t going to say anything else after he’d tentatively started and broken off again.

“M-make it up to me?” The older stuttered, not quite comprehending the situation yet. Seungmin nodded.

“Yes. Since I rejected your peace-offering dinner back then, it only seems right to me that I take you out for dinner to make up for it. Whenever you want, wherever you want. If you want. I hope you’ll want.” Closing his eyes, Seungmin bit his lip. He was rambling, and if Changbin had paid attention, he might just notice that he was far more nervous and not at all as confident as he let on. He just really wanted Changbin to accept his offer and forgive him.

Silence answered him for the longest time, and it took a monumental effort for Seungmin to be able to look at Changbin directly to try and gauge his reaction.

“I-… O-ok. I accept. Your apology, and dinner. But you should choose where; I don’t have any preferences or intolerances, and if we’re to eat together, we should make sure you can actually eat, too.”

Seungmin wanted to protest, but quickly decided against it. It was Changbin’s choice, and if Changbin insisted he chose, he wouldn’t argue. After all, he was just glad Changbin accepted his apology and attempt to make up. Now he just had to know-

“Do you want to go right now?”

“Uh, not _now,_ now! I should clean the rest of the baking stuff up first-” Changbin hastily backpedalled, but Seungmin shook his head, interrupting him.

“I already cleaned it, don’t worry.”

Changbin’s eyes widened.

“You did? You didn’t have to! Then let me just vacuum real quick-”

“I did that already, too.”

Changbin couldn’t help the bewildered look he gave Seungmin.

“Uh… I- Thank you? But… Why?”

A nervous chuckle tumbled past Seungmin’s lips.

“I needed something to do while I waited for you to come home, and I was going crazy not doing anything.”

If anything, that only bewildered Changbin more.

“You were waiting for me?!”

Seungmin sighed, realizing that the time to be completely honest with Changbin had finally come.

“I have. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this for a while now, and have always found excuses to not do it in the end. Today is the day I decided I couldn’t wait any longer, and no matter what, I had to talk and clear this air between the two of us. We’ve been roommates for ages now, and we barely know anything about the other, and gripe at each other- well, no, that’s not right. It’s only me who’s griping at you all the time. And you don’t deserve that. You shouldn’t feel like you have to walk on eggshells all the time in your own home because there is a stranger who will bark at you at the tiniest misstep. I really wanted to make sure I put an end to making you feel that way as soon as possible; if possible, today.”

Changbin felt like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, not coming from his roommate. But he wasn’t one to hold grudges, or to bat away an olive branch when it was extended to him.

“Oh. That’s… Thank you. I appreciate it. And… You’re forgiven, I guess? I mean, I never blamed you, you had some very good points and I did need to become a better roommate. I’m just… glad that my efforts were appreciated?”

Relief eventually settled over Seungmin’s features, and a smile broke through his way too serious expression. “They were. Thank you. For forgiving me, too. So, shall we get going then? Or do you want to go later?”

It took a moment for Changbin to compose himself from the sudden ray of sunlight that had seemingly come out of nowhere and blinded him momentarily, but he caught himself eventually.

“Uh, now would be fine with me. I’m actually starving!”

***

The drive to the restaurant Seungmin chose was awkward, there was no gentle way of putting it. Seungmin himself wasn’t one for small talk, had never been, and Changbin didn’t know what he should talk about either. He didn’t know what would interest his roommate, and was afraid to choose a subject that might bore or even offend Seungmin, putting a new strain on their fragile truce. The silence dragged on until they were seated and handed their menus.

“I hope you find something you like on their menu; they pride themselves for having something for everyone’s tastes and needs here.” Seungmin was the first to break the silence then, and Changbin looked up from his menu to find Seungmin hadn’t even opened his.

“Are you not choosing?” He just had to ask the younger.

“Oh, I already know what I’m getting. I’m a regular here.”

Changbin nodded in understanding, returning his attention to the menu. It was then he realized the name of the place sounded familiar.

“I think I’ve heard of this place, actually… If I recall right, a friend of a friend comes here a lot, because he claims this is the only place where he can get gluten and sugar free vegan cakes that don’t taste like cardboard in this city. His words.”

Seungmin’s eyes widened at the quote.

“No way; don’t tell me you know Woojin-hyung, too!”

Changbin’s jaw dropped for a second time that day.

“What? You- you know him, too?”

Seungmin nodded, suddenly enthusiastic. “I do! His roommate used to tutor me, and Woojin-hyung had to come to my rescue once when he was about to murder me because I didn’t know he had three cats and not just one after at least eight tutoring sessions. It’s not my fault his cats never showed up at the same time and were all orange, and I was actually there to learn about literature and not cats!”

Changbin couldn’t contain his laughter after that.

“Oh no, how dare you! Better lower your voice, though: if Minho-hyung hears you, you’re toast! Dori is not orange!”

Seungmin blinked in confusion.

“Dori?”

“The third cat. She’s grey. Only Soonie and Doongie are orange.”

Seungmin gaped at him.

“Oh no! Please don’t ever mention that slight of mine to the almighty cat-whisperer! I’ve worked too hard for my PhD to die this close to finally getting it!”

Again, Changbin laughed, but then raised his hand in a solemn swear.

“I shan’t breathe a word to him. Your secret is safe with me!”

Seungmin chuckled, exaggerating his relief, and Changbin could swear he felt the ice melting between them.

“So, is there something you’d recommend from this menu?” He asked Seungmin after a quick scan that left him indecisive, and Seungmin nodded enthusiastically.

“Their pizza! It’s delicious. Make sure to get a small one, though, to leave room for dessert. Their cakes are to die for!”

Changbin rose a sceptic eyebrow.

“That good, huh?”

Seungmin nodded again. “Yeah. I mean, as someone who bakes, too, I’m sure you’ll be able to form a much more objective opinion about them as I would, but you will only know if you try them.”

Changbin hummed, scanning the menu again, but ultimately decided to go with Seungmin’s suggestion. The waiter came, they ordered, and were left alone again.

“Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask you: you bake a lot, but I never see any cakes in our kitchen. How come?” Seungmin asked as soon as they were alone again.

“I mostly bake for family, friends, and friends’ families. Mostly for friends. One friend, in particular. Actually, ninety percent of what I bake is for Jisung. Case in point, today’s cake was actually for him, too. He just doesn’t know about that one yet.”

Seungmin tilted his head curiously. “How come?”

A fond smile tugged at Changbin’s lips. “We’re planning a surprise party for him. It’s his birthday tomorrow.”

“Oh? Funny, one of my friends’ birthday is the day after tomorrow. But him and I are going to celebrate our birthdays together.”

That sparked Changbin’s interest. “Is your birthday soon, then, too?”

Seungmin nodded.

“One week after Felix. The party is the weekend after that, though; no one wants to start a Monday with a hangover.”

“You have a point there. So, have you figured out who’s going to bake your cakes yet?”

Seungmin gave Changbin a half challenging, half teasing look.

“Not yet. Why, are you offering?”

Changbin shrugged. “Maybe…”

Seungmin’s eyes widened in disbelief and he sat up straighter. “Wait, are you serious?”

“Sure, why not? I’m always happy to have an excuse to bake something!”

“But… You’d have to bake without eggs…” Seungmin adverted carefully, suddenly serious, but Changbin gave him a reassuring smile.

“That’s not a problem. I’ve recently started baking for Woojin-hyung, and that’s a much bigger challenge. Does your friend have any intolerances and allergies I should keep in mind, too?”

“Strawberries, walnuts and seafood- not that the last one is relevant when it comes to cakes.” Seungmin answered on the spot, the answer memorized in its entirety so the last one slipped out as well. Changbin shook his head seriously, though.

“Oh, it is! When it comes to food dyes, for example, some have traces of seafood in them. I’ll make sure to double check!”

Seungmin stared at Changbin with wide eyes, something like a newfound respect sparkling in them.

“You’re really serious about baking us cakes, aren’t you…”

Changbin nodded. “Of course.”

“In that case, you should absolutely come to our party, too. And bring your friends as well. Especially Jisung; I want to see Hyunjin absolutely lose his shit, he’s been crushing on him for over a year now and never even made him aware of his existence, it’s honestly sad at this point.”

Changbin let out a surprised chuckle, but nodded.

“Ok, I’ll be there. With the cakes. And I’ll talk to Jisung and Chan.”

Seungmin’s face lit up with a pleased smile, and Changbin almost cursed the waiter’s horrendous timing as he chose that exact moment to show up with the food and cut the display short.

*** *** ***

Changbin would have expected that nothing would really have changed between him and Seungmin after that dinner to break the ice, other than that they became more civil with each other, maybe. That was not at all what happened, though.

After their dinner out, they’d returned home and wound up on the couch in the living room, watching a movie; together, for the first time ever. Surprisingly, they’d found they shared a lot of common interests when it came to movies, and ended up talking about movies, series, dramas and even books until the wee hours of the morning, before eventually – somewhat reluctantly – parting and trudging off to their beds.

Mornings brought sleepy greetings and sometimes even shared, mostly silent but peaceful breakfasts between the two of them, usually followed by a quick exchange of the plans for the day once both had woken up properly, and evenings that wound up with both of them on the couch watching a movie together quickly became a frequent occurrence.

Another most notable change occurred with the chores they split, which instead of each doing their own became something they did together when their schedules allowed it; especially groceries shopping went from a dreaded solo activity each did for themselves, to a joint, fun-filled adventure through which they ended up learning a lot about each other. 

Seungmin’s birthday, in the middle of it all, became another turning point as Changbin surprised him with a mini-cake in the morning. Seungmin’s surprised but joy-filled expression as he received the baked goodie, and the delight shining on his face as he tasted it were something Changbin was sure he could get addicted to, and from that day on home-baked goods became a staple in their kitchen; despite Seungmin’s empty complaints that it was Changbin’s fault if he ruined his diet.

Two weeks passed in an instant, and suddenly it was the day of Seungmin and his friend Felix’s joint birthday party. Seungmin had been banned from their kitchen since the evening before, Changbin claiming he wanted to surprise him with his cake, and he was banned from the apartment altogether right after breakfast. Changbin had plans, and he wouldn’t have them found out, interrupted or spoiled by Seungmin, no matter what.

And yet, despite starting his preparations over twenty four hours in advance, Changbin only just managed to finish in time before Jisung and Chan had to physically drag him out of the apartment to make it to the location of the party slightly on time; which was just before the majority of the other guests would arrive so they could unload everything Changbin had prepared without incidents and accidents.

Even without a house already full of people, that proved a bit of a challenge, because Changbin had, well… gone a little overboard. All that was left to say was that they were all glad Chan had a fairly spacious car to transport everything over safely.

“You said you would bake us a cake. _A_ cake. Singular! At most, I would have expected Your Extraness to bake one for each of us, but this… what the hell, hyung?!” Seungmin barely managed to pick his jaw up off the ground to speak upon seeing the amount of food Changbin and his friends brought in.

“You were the one telling me you’d invited Woojin-hyung and Minho-hyung, so of course I had to make sure they both would have cake options they could eat, too. And I really wanted to make the chocolate cake Woojin loves, but Minho can’t have chocolate, and your cake is yours and Felix’s is Felix’s, and I figured there should be some cookies and cupcakes, too, for those who wouldn’t want to eat a whole slice of cake…”

“Hyung, neither Felix nor I would eat a whole cake on our own, and people can just cut off smaller slices-”

“You better give up, Minnie.” A soft chuckle interrupted Changbin’s roommate, Woojin appearing behind him to pat his shoulder comfortingly. “No one is left to get drunk on an empty stomach on Changbin’s watch. It’s something you will just have to accept.”

Seungmin opened his mouth to protest, but was quickly cut off by a new voice, as Jisung returned from unloading the goods he’d been carrying into the kitchen.

“Yeah, that’s our Binnie-hyung. And don’t worry about the state your kitchen is in, either; Binnie-hyung’s already cleaned everything up before coming over. Just go ahead and enjoy all the cakes!”

Still, Seungmin tried to protest again; tried being the operative word, since he was cut off yet again by a startled yell from one of his best friends, who had clearly _not_ been forewarned about his long-time crush being invited into his house and proceeded to malfunction and attract everyone’s attention. As soon as Hyunjin had somewhat regained his bearings, more guests started to arrive, and Seungmin’s attention was once again required elsewhere. With loud pumping music and a multitude of people populating the entire living space shortly after, Seungmin found no more time and chances to protest, and decided to give up and follow the advice of enjoying himself, the presence of his friends, the ambience, and of course the cakes.

As the evening progressed, it just so happened that both Seungmin and Changbin felt the need for a breather and wound up on the balcony eventually.

Changbin was already leaning against the railing when Seungmin stepped outside, too, joining him. Changbin welcomed him with a smile.

“Hey… Need a moment, too?”

Seungmin hummed, stepping forward to lean against the railing next to Changbin.

“Yeah… I swear I love them all, but… They are a lot.”

Changbin nodded lightly in understanding.

“You want me to leave you alone?”

Seungmin shook his head quickly; mayhaps a little too quickly.

“No! No, it’s fine. You can stay. I actually… I wanted to talk to you.”

Changbin’s eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed into a glare with no actual heat behind it.

“If you’re going to complain about me bringing too much cake again…!”

“I won’t!” Seungmin denied, to Changbin’s surprise. “On the contrary. I want to thank you. Everyone is loving the cakes and cookies and everything, especially because there seems to be something for every intolerance. All my friends are happy, so I guess… I can tolerate your extraness just this once.”

A small chuckle bubbled out of Changbin, and he nudged Seungmin lightly.

“Just this once? What about the Halloween party you were talking about next month? Oh, and Chuseok? Christmas? Next year’s birthday?”

Seungmin could only roll his eyes, nudging Changbin back.

“Stop it. You’re going bankrupt if you keep providing a whole catering service’s worth of food for every occasion!”

After a long, pensive hum, Changbin shook his head.

“Nah, I don’t think so. Ever since I got a pretty great roommate to share the bills with, I have enough left over to spend on a bit more food. It’ll be fine.”

Next to him, Seungmin snorted, without looking at him.

“Pretty great roommate, huh?”

The corner of Changbin’s lip lifted into a soft smirk as he faked nonchalance with a shrug. “I said what I said.”

He didn’t look over when Seungmin turned his head to look at him in the dim light from the streetlights below, but his smirk turned into a full smile.

Seungmin nudged him again.

“You’re a sap.”

“You love it.”

Seungmin froze for a second, then forcibly relaxed again. “Debatable.” He mumbled, but no real annoyance rang in his voice.

They reverted to silence, but it wasn’t awkward. There was the sound of cicadas coming from the park at the end of the street, mixed with the bass of the music from the apartment behind them, making for a strange but not unpleasant mix that filled the silence between them just nicely.

That was, until the song changed to one Changbin knew all too well, and he gasped quietly.

“Who’s in charge of the music tonight?” He asked, suddenly a little tense.

“Hyunjin. He’s been a fan of you guys since you started, back when you were still running the campus radio station. I’m not surprised he’s taking the chance to blast your music to a broader audience again.” Seungmin replied nonchalantly, and Changbin whipped around to gape at him.

“You know?!”

Seungmin returned Changbin’s incredulous stare with a dull look.

“I _live_ with you, hyung. And you aren’t subtle, and I’m not deaf.”

It took a while for Changbin to process the meaning of those words; as soon as he did, another question pushed to the forefront of his mind.

“Does Hyunjin know…?”

Seungmin shook his head, though, causing an unexpected wave of relief to wash over Changbin.

“No. I haven’t told anyone. I figured if you kept your identity a secret, there must be a reason, and it wasn’t my place to reveal it. Not even to my friends.” He reassured, and Changbin nearly kissed Seungmin out of relief. In the end, he managed to contain himself, though. Seungmin continued, and a small, devious smile painted itself across his features as he spoke. “Though I must admit I also have selfish reasons for keeping your secret: there is something incredibly amusing about watching Hyunjin having repeated crises over whom he loves more, Jisung or J.One.”

That was unexpected, and Changbin actually laughed out loud at the thought.

“It must have been hard pretending you don’t know they are one and the same when he goes on about it, huh?”

Seungmin chuckled, but shrugged.

“Not as hard as keeping it a secret from you that I know your alter ego. Actually, that was part of why I became so stand-offish and tried to keep a distance from you originally. I didn’t want you to think that I’m just trying to suck up to you because you’re kind of famous or something. I kind of overdid it, in the end, though.”

Changbin couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing, but in the end, all he could do was laugh about it.

“You could say that! God, you’re so cute, Minnie.”

They both froze when they realized what Changbin had said, but Changbin didn’t stay frozen for long, making it a point to catch Seungmin’s gaze with his own.

“I’m not taking that back.” He whispered, and Seungmin’s eyes widened a little more as he swallowed thickly. There was a notable tension in the air between them, one that didn’t go unnoticed by either of them; nor did it go ignored as their gazes locked and seemed to beckon the other closer.

“Hyung…” Seungmin started, but whatever he wanted to ask fled his mind again as quickly as it had appeared. The word tore Changbin’s gaze away from Seungmin’s, though, his attention momentarily focused on his lips instead before flitting back up with an unspoken question.

Again, Seungmin swallowed thickly, and his lips parted ever so slightly as he nodded the go ahead at Changbin. Neither knew when the already minimal distance between them had closed so much, but Changbin wasn’t complaining since all he had to do now was lean up just slightly to capture Seungmin’s lips in a gentle kiss.

Seungmin’s breath hitched, but he met Changbin’s kiss as equal, returning it without hesitation. He could feel Changbin’s smile before he pulled back, but Seungmin wasn’t done with him yet, and reached out to take a hold of Changbin and pull him in again. This time, the kiss lasted longer, became a little more urgent, and might have progressed even more, if it hadn’t been for-

“Hyung! I’ve been looking for you everywhe- _Holy shit, hyung!”_

Changbin only broke the kiss reluctantly, his voice only just level.

“Jisung. Kindly fuck off. Please.”

Jisung stuttered incoherently before clearing his throat and starting over.

“O-ok, hyung. Fucking off! Bye!”

Changbin groaned when the door closed again behind Jisung, but he didn’t have a lot of time to begrudge Jisung for interrupting them before Seungmin kissed him again. This time, it didn’t last long, but it was full of- of something. Of something that had Changbin hoping there was a promise of more among that something.

“How long do you reckon until everyone knows?” Seungmin asked quietly when he parted from the kiss again.

“Since it’s Jisung who saw… Pretty safe to say everyone here already does, as well as at least one of our families.”

Seungmin hummed thoughtfully. “Efficient.” He remarked, before falling silent again. Despite his calm demeanour, Changbin thought he could feel a certain nervousness from him in the way Seungmin’s fingers played in the fabric of his shirt. To ease it, Changbin decided to cover his hands with his own, ultimately interlacing their fingers. Seungmin looked up at him.

“Hyung… What… What does this mean? For us?”

Changbin lifted one of their interlaced hands and placed a soft kiss on the back of Seungmin’s knuckles.

“This means I actually find you very, very cute. But if you mean Jisung already telling everyone… That doesn’t have to mean anything for us, if you don’t want it to.”

Seungmin hummed, leaning in closer again.

“And if I wanted it to?”

“Then it means we can skip telling our friends we found ourselves a boyfriend because that already got taken care of.”

Changbin barely managed to finish his sentence before his lips were sealed by Seungmin’s again.

“Did we find ourselves a boyfriend, though?” Seungmin asked once he parted from the kiss again.

“I would hope so. I’d really like you to become my boyfriend, Kim Seungmin. Benefits include unlimited access to cake, drawbacks the occasional dried up chocolate mug in the sink. Proceed with care before you seal the deal.”

Seungmin chuckled, rolling his eyes at Changbin’s silliness.

“I think that is something I can tolerate, boyfriend.” He answered with a slight smirk.

“Sweet!” Changbin cheered quietly, eliciting another chuckle and eyeroll from Seungmin, before he pulled the younger close and realized for the first time he was only wearing a rather thin sweatshirt. “We should probably go back inside before you catch a cold, boyfriend. And before Jisung comes looking for us again.”

Only then did Seungmin notice how chilly the night air around them had become, too, and they returned inside. There, the music had changed to something a little calmer and not quite as loud in the meantime, not as many people dancing anymore and instead standing together in clusters and chatting instead. It took no time at all for Jisung to spot them and come over.

“There you are, hyung! I was looking for you because Hyunjinnie was looking for Seungmin and I was wondering if you knew where he was, but then I found both of you- anyway, presents! We’re doing presents now, everyone is waiting, come on!” With that, Jisung grabbed hold of Changbin’s wrist to drag him off. In turn, Changbin was still holding on to Seungmin’s hand, and the latter got dragged off as well.

In no time, everyone was gathered around, handing Seungmin and Felix their presents, until Changbin’s turn came.

“Oh, Binnie, what did you get our Seungminnie?” Minho asked excitedly, yet before Changbin could answer, Jisung did for him.

“A personal cleaning maid!” He shouted into the expectant silence. A few people – Seungmin’s close friends, namely - choked on their snacks, drinks, or air as they bit back laughter, while Chan smacked the back of Jisung’s head lightly.

“That wasn’t his birthday present, but his 3 months of being roommates’ celebratory gift! I heard his birthday present was actually his heart!” Hyunjin added dramatically as soon as he’d cleared his airways of cookie crumbs. For that, he was promptly elbowed in the side by Woojin, making him yelp and choke on air this time.

Seungmin could only roll his eyes, releasing a big sigh.

“Actually, it was a cake. Plus all the food today. And I will not accept anything else!” The last part was directed solely at Changbin, who rose his hands in defeat; though without letting go of Seungmin’s first.

The ensuing wolf-whistles were a given, but neither Changbin nor Seungmin actually minded too much.

*** *** ***

Seungmin was almost asleep; almost. Changbin made for a great pillow, extremely comfortable to sprawl all over while watching movies. Well, he actually didn’t watch too much of the movie, what with how comfortable and close to sleep he was, but he wasn’t mad about it. If he could get lost in the sound of Changbin’s even heartbeat and the occasional chuckle rumbling through his chest, surrounded by a mix of the scent of their laundry detergent, Changbin’s cologne and something that was uniquely Changbin, as well as Changbin’s arms and just warmth… what did he need a movie for? The last thing he wanted in those moments was something to distract him from the reality he was living in.

Said reality was a wicked one, though, and chose the moment he was actually starting to drift off to provide him with the sound of an alarm going off that had him jolt back awake with a start. In response to his violent jump, Changbin’s arms tightened around him, and a soft kiss landed on top of his head.

“Shh, it’s just the alarm for the cake. Let me get up and you can go right back to sleep.” Changbin soothed, slipping out from underneath Seungmin.

He hadn’t even taken a full step away when Seungmin already started missing him, but he didn’t hold him back. Last time he had done that, it had ended with the fire alarm going off and Changbin needing to buy a new cake tin. And Changbin wouldn’t take long, after all.

At least that was what he thought. But Changbin seemed to take ages, and Seungmin was starting to get cold, on his own on the couch, without Changbin’s warmth surrounding him. Eventually, he grew tired of waiting, and decided to get up to see what was taking him so long.

He found Changbin – as he did so often – in the kitchen, decorating a cake.

“Hyung? What’s taking you so long?”

Changbin looked up from his cake, giving him a quick smile before putting a finishing touch on the decoration and presenting the finished product to Seungmin.

“Happy 10 months as roommates!”

Seungmin wished he was joking, but these past five months as Changbin’s boyfriend had taught him one thing above all: Changbin never forgot a date, and every date was a good enough occasion to bake something in celebration for. And Seungmin couldn’t even be mad about it, because all of Changbin’s creations were to die for. And still, all he wanted right now were cuddles, not cake.

“Are we cutting the cake now, or are we waiting for 10am tomorrow; the actual time I became your roommate?” Seungmin was hoping for the latter.

Changbin seemed to think it over for a moment, but eventually answered to Seungmin’s satisfaction. “Tomorrow.”

“Good. Can I have my body-pillow back, then?”

Changbin cleared his throat, visibly holding back laughter and trying to put on an exasperated expression.

“Is that all I am to you?”

Seungmin shook his head earnestly.

“No. You are also my personal space heater, weighed blanket and personalized plushie. Now get moving back to the couch.” With that, he shoved Changbin in the direction of the door to the living room. Changbin laughed but complied easily, opening his arms wide to catch Seungmin as the younger flopped down on him as soon as he was sitting down.

“Thank you.” Seungmin mumbled into his neck, before lifting his head far enough to beckon Changbin into a lazy kiss. “Happy ten months as roommates to you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you would like me to write something for you, too, head on over to my twitter [@writtenonwings](https://twitter.com/writtenonwings) to find out how.


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